Rules infraction 1960 Masters

[Bill Shamleffer]

I came across the following paragraph in Herbert Warren Wind's Masters article in the April 18, 1960 edition of Sports Illustrated.


A COSTLY PUTT

On the second day Palmer's 73 gave him the lead at the halfway mark with a total of 140 but only after a weird technicality had changed Finsterwald's total from an apparent 139 (69-70) to 141. It came about this way. On his first round, after holing out on the fifth, Dow had dropped his ball and putted it off the green. He never gave this a second thought until the second round when, after completing the first hole, he dropped his ball on the green and was about to putt it off when Bill Casper, his playing partner, yelled to him not to do it, it was against the rules. A diligent student of the rules, Dow had somehow not realized that the PGA two-stroke penalty for practice putting obtained as well in the Masters and was, in fact, printed on the back of the scorecard. Remembering then that, he had violated this rule on the fifth the previous day, he reported this immediately to the officials. At the finish of his round he was advised of the Rules Committee's decision: a two-stroke penalty but not disqualification. The committee, aware that this was the first time in golf history that a penalty was assessed the day after the infringement occurred, had decided that disqualification was not in order since the breach of the rules had not affected the actual play of the ball. Dow's 70 on his second round with all this weighing heavily on his mind was really quite remarkable.


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1071149/2/index.htm#ixzz1K4XYCtIw


I found it very interesting that in 1960 a tournament rules committee was willing to use their discretion to apply a penalty after the scorecard was signed, rather than going with the DQ as the rules would technically call for.  I did catch their reasoning, but I can not think of any instance of a rules committee willing to make this type of decision.  It seems as though every single instance of a rules violation discovered after the scorecard is signed results in only the committee deciding not to make a decision different from that mandated by the letter of the Rules.  Even though the Rules give this power to the committee.  And I doubt if the Master Rules Committee in 1960 was one who was very loose with the Rules of Golf.

[Jason Topp]

Actually - I think the Masters Committee did things like this a few times.  One of the Masters books (probably Sampson's or Owen's) discusses the issue.

[Bill_McBride]

Too bad they didn't extend the same courtesy to Roberto DiVincenzo a few years later.  After all, it was his playing partner who mismarked his card.  "What an estupido I am," he said.

[Scott Warren]

Or Palmer when he beat Venturi making a 3 with a second ball at the 12th, which he only decided to play after holing out for a 5 with his original ball, which became embedded after his tee shot...

[Adam Clayman]

Scott. I question Venturi's recollection. On the footage you can clearly see Venturi was nowhere near Palmer during the fiasco. Palmer couldve said it to the official and Venturi never heard him.

[JMEvensky]

Scott. I question Venturi's recollection. On the footage you can clearly see Venturi was nowhere near Palmer during the fiasco. Palmer couldve said it to the official and Venturi never heard him.

How could you possibly question Venturi's recollection?This is a man who,50 years after the fact,was able to recollect an entire 4-some's shot by shot at CPC--including club selections,yardages,and number of cigarettes smoked.

[jim_lewis]

There is some early history of Masters officials being flexible with their interpretation of the rules. I don't recall the details of the story but it goes something like this. At one of the very early Masters Tournaments, Bobby Jones's father was pressed into duty as a rules official on the twelth green. A young competitor's tee shot came to rest on the bank of Rae's Creek, and he asked Mr. Jones for a ruling on whether it was imbeded and whether he was allowed a free drop. Mr. Jones asked him how he stood in the tournament, and the young man replied that he was 12 over par. Mr. Jones "ruled" that in that case, he could do whatever he liked.